UPDATE 2-Vodafone helps FTSE 100 gain; Sports Direct slips as results go AWOL

* FTSE 100 up 0.8%, FTSE 250 up 0.2%
* Vodafone up on plans to create European mobile mast co
* Trading update lifts education company Pearson
* Sports Direct skids after no sign of annual results

(Adds news items, analyst, price updates)
By Muvija M and Shashwat Awasthi
July 26 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 surged on Friday led
by Vodafone, which enjoyed its best day in more than 16 years on
plans to create a separate European tower company, while mid-cap
Sports Direct fell after thrice delaying its annual results.
The main index .FTSE added 0.8% as weakness prevailed in
sterling, helping the exporter-heavy FTSE 100 outperform the
broader European market, which lagged after the European Central
Bank did not cut interest rates.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 .FTMC rose 0.2%, up for the sixth
straight session.
Vodafone VOD.L surged 10.6% to its highest level since
March after laying out plans to separate its mobile mast
infrastructure in 10 European markets into a new organisation
that it could potentially list. "Suffice to say the hope, reflected in the stock price leap,
is that the Tower surprise could pull Vodafone's
above-industry-average leverage sharply lower," Cityindex
analyst Ken Odeluga said.
A strategy to shift away from traditional textbooks to
digital began paying off for Pearson PSON.L , the world's
biggest education company, as it climbed 5.9% after robust
first-half trading. Buoyed by hopes of more stimulus from central banks globally
and as Brexit woes hit sterling, the exporter-heavy FTSE 100 is
on course for its second consecutive month of gains, after a
mild slump in May due to U.S.-China trade jitters.
While the ECB played down the possibility of a near-term
rate cut, investors still hope the U.S. Federal Reserve will
ease policy next week, despite a better-than-expected U.S. gross
domestic product report. Investors also bet that new British Prime Minister Boris
Johnson would implement stimulus measures and cut taxes to boost
spending, which guided housebuilders .FTNMX3720 to their
highest level since April.
The only major blemish on the FTSE 100 was a 4.1% drop in
Anglo American AAL.L after its biggest shareholder Anil
Agarwal said he was divesting all of his near 20% stake, and as
copper prices fell after the ECB dampened rate cut hopes.
Mike Ashley's Sports Direct SPD.L gave up 3.9% as it
issued three statements saying it was still finalising its
already delayed full-year results. "A delay on top of a delay does not look good. Investors
will take it as a bad sign although we're not sure if it's just
a technical glitch or something more serious," Markets.com
analyst Neil Wilson said.
Among smaller stocks, baby products retailer Mothercare
MTC.L slumped 13.9%, after it said an uncertain and volatile
UK market would stall growth in its annual underlying pretax
profit.